These squabbles happen from time to time. Drama arises because the 1998 law that changed the school's name insists that "University of Louisiana" must be followed by "at Lafayette." Unless, that is, we're talking about the University of Louisiana at Monroe, which the Legislature said had to go along with the deal. There would be no single University of Louisiana.

But UL name change supporters in Acadiana hoped feverishly that the Lafayette school would be known just that way. Or better yet, as "Louisiana."

This would boost the local university's prestige while - let's be honest - sticking it to LSU.

Around 2004, this paper's senior management decided to refer to the institution as the University of Louisiana on first reference and as UL after that. Letters poured in from happy alumni.

My correspondence wasn't happy. I was online editor at the time, and a disgruntled publisher sent me a disgruntled email: Why, he asked, does our website still say "UL Lafayette"?

I searched every cyber nook and virtual cranny in vain - until I remembered that we were posting the Ragin' Cajun football program as an Adobe Acrobat file before every game. And that's the only place "UL Lafayette" remained on our site. The university printed the program and was required to follow the law.

Such are the anomalies created by subterfuge. Or was this too transparent a trick to be called subterfuge?

Everybody who watched the name change wiggle its way through the Legislature could see what was going on. A group of UL Lafayette supporters would get the name changed somehow, even if it meant agreeing technically to a regional moniker like UL Lafayette. Then they would carry on as if the university could rightly be referred to as "Louisiana," even though UL Monroe would seem to have as much right to that name as the Lafayette school.

The name change supporters were dealing three-card Monte with the cards face up. It's tough to win when you do that.

.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Bill Decker: The school's name is UL Lafayette; leave it alone

These squabbles happen from time to time. Drama arises because the 1998 law that changed the school's name insists that 'University of Louisiana' must be followed by 'at Lafayette.' Unless, that is,